Quito. A mythical capital city of colonial architecture and altitude . Ecuador's capital is more famous for height than haute cuisine and the local booze is weak Pilsener style beer or fiery aguardiente - the local fire water.

So after a few days here, we were craving a glass of wine worth it's price tag and a menu that didn't include Guinea Pig...

The wine cellar gave hope

Consulting The Rough Guide, we pinned our hopes on Zazu. It's also the Trip Advisor top rated restaurant in town.

It offered none of the $2.50 set menus found around the Old Town, but as we are celebrating our wedding anniversary on this trip, we decided to go for it.

Best sea bass ceviche ever

Zazu is based in the new town, and claims to be one of the best restaurants in Ecuador. Phoning at 6pm on a Tuesday night we secured a table for 7.30, a wise move as the place filled up and tables were turned.

We'd heard that the Peruvian head chef made the best ceviche so we had to start with that. The Sea Bass marinated in lime juice, red onion & chilli was a great start to the meal, zingy and packed with flavour.

We also shared some other appetisers as we'd missed lunch, the Stone Crab cakes were fresh and meaty with no potato filler and the Suckling Pig Tacitos were salty and crispy parcels packed with flavour.

Crab cake heaven

Suckling pig never looked so good

The wine list was extensive and mainly South American, as you'd expect. To pair with the whole meal, we needed a white and after some consideration I opted for the Chardonnay by Catena Zapata.the first non-European to win winemaker of the year, Catena's Mendoza vineyards are among the best in Argentina and at $52 the wine was a reasonable price compared to $48 for a basic Concha y Toro wine in the more central areas.

Fine Argentine wine

The wine was a great match for the exotic food flavours including my rather fusion style main course of Pistachio Encrusted Ahi Tuna served with wasabi flavoured mash. Full of tropical fruit such as pineapple and nectarine, there was also a well judged oak influence creating some vanilla notes and the full body and acidity were in great balance.

Pistachio crusted ahi tuna with wasabi mash - fusion that worked

After so many flavours we opted for dessert wine as a replacement for dessert. Once again we chose Catena, this time the 2008 Semillon Doux which was just sweet enough with zesty lime and acacia honey flavours developing orange marmalade.

A nice glass of sweet Semillon from Argentina to top off the evening

With tax and service the whole meal came to around $150 including lots of sparkling water and all the wine. That's eye-wateringly expensive for your average Ecuadorian but business seemed to be booming. We'd certainly recommend a visit if you're in that part of the world.

Cheers!

A Quito evening

The equator monument, Quito

PS apologies for any typing or formatting irregularities in this post as it's been composed entirely using my phone...

We'd heard that the Peruvian head chef made the best ceviche so we had to start with that. The Sea Bass marinated in lime juice, red onion & chilli was a great start to the meal, zingy and packed with flavour.

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Purple Teeth

My name's Heather and I've been enjoying wine for over 20 years. I'm the 2013 winner of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust Rhone prize for oustanding students at the advanced level.My mission is to share my passion for the myriad varieties of fermented grape juice, hopefully inspiring you to try something new, or to host a Purple Teeth wine party in your own home or business.

My blog mainly features wines you should be able to find on your local high street or online, and occasionally, I will review restaurants, travel and other forms of alcohol, since my qualification covers spirits too. I believe it's important to enjoy the calories and the cash we spend on alcohol, and I hope my guidance can help you reduce the risk of making a bad buy.

When I'm not drinking wine, you'll find me on the dance floor where West Coast Swing is my dance of choice. Socialising with the friends I've made there from all over the world has also brought me new adventures in alcohol! And just in case you're interested, I also write a blog called Confidence Within. You'll find it at heatherharrison.weebly.com

Remember to enjoy wine sensibly...For a woman, 2-3 units per day is the recommended maximum allowance. This equates to around one standard "pub measure" glass of wine:175ml of 13% alcohol wine is 2.3 units (and a scary 140 calories). You'll find all the facts you need about safe, moderate drinking at the www.Drinkaware.co.uk site. Purple Teeth supports safe drinking. Never drive or operate machinery after drinking alcohol.